Flesh and Wires

“The problem with the Naturals is that they’re soft. I don’t mean the filled-with-guts-and-liquid kind of soft. I mean that their emotions have no limits. They are ruled by their feelings.”

Cassius listened as he knelt before Lord Isa. The chamber where Isa held his audiences was massive and empty. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all smooth polished metal. None of Isa’s government buildings had windows or lights, and his palace was no exceptions. Darkness was a weakness of the Naturals. Enhanced, like them, could see just as well in the darkness as they could in the light. The Naturals had built the Enhanced to be superior. They just hadn’t expected the uprising that would follow, or that Isa and his followers would demand superiority rather than equality.

Cassius wasn’t stupid, he knew where this meeting with Isa was going. This was fucking war, and Isa’s warfare had always been more about undermining the enemy than it had been about any sort of military prowess or weapons. Unless, of course, you considered Cassius’ lean frame and pretty face to be a weapon.

“You blew your cover on the last mission.” Lord Isa strode down the steps from the dias he’d been standing on, though he still towered over Cassius. He held his hand up when Cassius began to protest.

“I’ve heard it before, Cassius. 'It was only a minor slip-up, Lord Isa,' 'I can cover my tracks, Lord Isa.'”

Cassius’ inside heated with anger, but he held his tongue. Isa made him sound like a sniveling child.

“Ignacio isn’t stupid. Well, he might have been stupid enough to think you would work with the people who want to enslave your race, but he isn’t dumb enough to overlook this clear evidence that you’re a double agent. Don’t worry though, Cassius. I had long ago realized the inevitability of your failure. I’m assuming you know what I’ll ask of you?”

Cassius was tired of kneeling and it seemed like as good a time as any to stand up. This close, he could see the grisly details of Isa’s face. He'd ripped half of his own skin off to display the metal plates and wires of his face. The scars from where the remaining flesh had healed over was angry and red. His eye, the only thing on the exposed side of his face which was not robotic, was overly wide without any sort of lid.

“You want me to seduce him.” Cassius stated, pursing his lips to hide the disgust on his face and try to look neutral.

Isa nodded. “Very good.”

“Do you really think he’ll want me?” Cassius couldn’t stop himself from spitting the question. “How could he desire me when I’m all motorized flesh and wires inside?” Isa was so close in front of him, displaying the identity of all Enhanced which lurked dormant under their human flesh.

Isa’s eyes flashed briefly. Cassius almost flinched when he tilted his head back and laughed.

“Cassius, your odd humor will always surprise me.”

Cassius forced a smile and bowed his head.

***

Ignatio’s smile lit up his light green eyes. His light brown hair was mussed from his never-ending habit of running his hand through it. He looked older with the stubble on his chin and the slight shadows under his eyes. He’d been wearing himself down with work, as always. Cassius had to hold back a smirk at what Isa would say if he could see this: 'He’ll be such an easy target like this, exhausted and vulnerable.' It was safe to say Isa knew nothing about Naturals or how they worked. Cassius still didn’t really understand them and he’d spent the whole war pretending to everyone but Ignatio that he was one of them.

“Hello, Kay.” Ignatio pulled the door fully open and invited him inside.

Cassius had never been a fan of Ignatio’s nickname for him, but that might be because he himself had never thought of anything easier to call the Natural leader than his real name. Ignatio. It was too many syllables for Casssius’ taste. It took too long to get off the tongue.

Cassius pushed past the Natural into the apartment, but not fast enough to miss his frown.

“Well...I think we should talk about what you said last time, Kay.” Ignatio closed the door behind him.

Cassius turned so they were facing each other across the office, leaning back against the dark wood desk covered in Ignatio’s various projects and tinkerings. It was dark, though mostly because the walls and carpet themselves were dark wood and carpet. A combination of oil lamps and electric lights balanced on stacks of books and wedged between bundles of wires made the place comforting. Cassius had a job to do and he couldn’t deny that Ignatio looked handsome in his element like this.

“What are you doing here right now, anyway?” Ignatio took a few steps closer and cocked his head. “I thought-”

Cassius closed the space between them and pressed their lips together firmly. His heart was pumping in his chest, even faster than he’d expected. He had a flash of wild fantasy where he shoved everything off the desk and pushed Ignatio down onto it. Of course, if he knocked Ignatio’s computers and what-not onto the floor, he’d wind up dead rather than laid. Not in a metaphorical way, either. Ignatio would stop kissing Cassius and strangle him instead.

For now, though, he was kissing Cassius. He was kissing him back hard. His stubble was scraping against Cassius’ clean-shaven chin. His hands were moving through Cassius’ inky-black hair to trail down his back. When he finally gripped Cassius’ hips, they exhaled sharply against each other at the sensation. Cassius pressed his hands into Ignatio’s back and felt his muscles moving under his shirt. He traced up the indent of his spine and spread fingers over his shoulder blades. The softness of Ignatio’s lips against the scrape of his cheeks was an oasis. Cassius remembered the hardness in Isa’s voice as he’d asked this of him. He wondered what Isa would think if he could see the heat between the two of them now. Cassius was moving his lips down Ignatio’s rough jaw to the soft and sensitive skin of his neck. He pulled the collar of Ignatio’s shirt aside to suck at the hollow above his collarbone. Ignatio slipped his hands under the fabric of Cassius’ shirt and Cassius groaned as cool hands brushed against the warm skin of his stomach.

Ignatio smiled against his lips and gathered the fabric of the shirt into his hands, moving it up to pull it over Cassius’ head. He could feel the mess it made of his hair as it came off. Ignatio ran his long fingers through it and smiled.

“Do you think this is smart?”

“What?” Cassius feigned confusion.

Ignatio rolled his eyes. “This,” he gestured between them, “I don’t know if it’s a smart idea.”

“At all? Or just right now?” Cassius teased, nuzzling Ignatio’s cheeks. He pressed their bodies closer together. He saw Ignatio’s eyes flutter shut.

“Fuck it. We can talk later.” Ignatio whispered before pressing his lips to Cassius’ again. They kissed fiercely, tongues punctuated by teeth clacking against each other as a result of their desperation. Soon Cassius was working the buttons on Ignatio’s shirt as they kissed. He kissed his way down Ignatio’s neck as he steered them towards the couch in the corner of the office. Something crinkled as he pushed Ignatio down onto it and the Natural reached under himself to pull out some crumpled pieces of paper.

“Uh oh, you’ll have to tell the generals that their important documents have been damaged.” Cassius teased.

“They aren’t important.” Ignatio pulled himself free of his shirt, reached up to lace his fingers through Cassius’ belt loops, and pulled him down.

Lying between Ignatio’s parted thighs, Cassius began to rub their bodies together. He could feel Ignatio’s hardening length underneath his own. He chased the friction between them, dulled as it was by the layers of fabric.

“Kay.” Ignatio whispered as Cassius made his way down his pale body. He kissed over the hair down the center of his chest, laved his tongue over his nipples, nibbled on the softer skin of his stomach. Reaching the waistband of Ignatio’s pants, he licked around the fabric, his hands moving to undo the ties at the front.

“Yes, fuck, please.” Ignatio hissed, urging him on. His pale fingers carded through Cassius’ dark hair. Ignatio lifted his hips to help as his pants were tugged off. Cassius stood to pull his own pants off. Ignatio stared up at him from where he still lay spread on the couch, lips parted and wet. His arms reached up to grab Cassius and pull him down on top of him again. They kissed and rubbed together more, enjoying the feeling of skin exposed and warm. Cassius gripped Ignatio’s thighs as they wrapped around his back. He traced over the muscles and skin there and pressed his fingers into the flesh. Under that skin was blood and bone, nerves, veins, and arteries.

He pulled back and panted against Ignatio’s mouth. “Are you sure you want this with...someone like me?”

Ignatio pressed his head back into the couch cushions so he could take in Cassius’ full face.

“Why wouldn’t I…” His eyes darted over Cassius’ face. “What, you mean because you’re an Enhanced?”

There was a trace of a smile on his face and Cassius started to pull away.

Ignatio tightened his legs around his waist and reached a hand up to grip his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun.” He whispers, his light eyes wide. “It’s just such a trivial thing to me. You’re different than me, sure. But you have a soul, Cassius. You really think I haven’t felt it by now?”

This wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. Cassius didn’t think he’d ever be convinced, but he leaned back into Ignatio’s body and pressed his lips to the crook between neck and shoulder.

“You’re human where it matters, Kay.” Ignatio murmured against his ear as one hand snaked down and cupped Cassius’ dick through the thin fabric of his underwear.

Cassius moved to kiss him and laughed softly against his lips.

“Stand up.” Ignatio asked him. Cassius smiled, knowing what was coming, and stood. Ignatio stood in front of him, light eyes bright with playfulness and lust. He kissed his way down Cassius’ stomach, making his way to his knees. He kissed Cassius’s cock through his underwear before slowly pulling it down. He wrapped his hand around Cassius’ cock and pumped it a few times before pulling the tip into his mouth. Cassius groaned and tipped his head back, running his hands through Ignatio’s hair without gripping it too hard. Ignatio sucked him slowly, going deeper and deeper each time. Cassius loved how he took his time with it, like he hadn’t done it a hundred times before. His bright eyes stared up at Cassius and his pink lips stretched wide and pretty. Cassius felt heat building in him as Ignatio sucked his dick with a hand wrapped around the base. Besides sex, there was only one thing he liked more than having his dick sucked. He pulled out of Ignatio’s mouth and pulled him to his feet. They kissed again, tongues tangling, until they could pull themselves apart. Cassius pulled Ignatio’s underwear down and turned him around. He guided him down and over, so he was bent over the couch. Cassius knelt behind him and spread his ass cheeks apart, exposing the tight furl of his entrance. He kissed his way over Ignatio’s tight cheeks first, sucking wet marks onto the sensitive skin inside of his cheeks. Ignatio was tense beneath him, waiting for the feeling of Cassius’ tongue.

When Cassius finally ran his tongue over Ignatio’s entrance, Ignatio shuddered and arched his back into the sensation. Cassius buried his face and kept licking. He loved making Ignatio gasp and moan. He reached a hand forward to fist Ignatio’s dick.

“Open me up.” Ignatio begged between gasps. Cassius stood and fetched a jar of oil from its place in a small box next to the couch. He coated his fingers with it before slowly sliding them one at a time into Ignatio. Ignatio shuddered and gasped at the pressure. Cassius rubbed his back through it until he was relaxed and pliant underneath him. Kissing over Ignatio’s back, Cassius coated his own cock in the oil and slowly slid inside. They both cried out at the pleasure and rightness of the feeling.

They moved with each other, chasing not just their own pleasures but each other's. They knew how to make each other feel ignited. They knew each other’s spots and weaknesses. Cassius leaned over Ignatio and kissed his neck as they found their rhythm.

***

Ignatio sighed as he laid his head on Cassius’ chest, still out of breath. They folded up together on the couch nicely, although Cassius wished there was a bed they could share without arousing too much suspicion.

“Isa asked me to seduce you.” Cassius mumbled, his lips brushing Ignatio’s hair.

Cassius felt Ignatio’s body shaking as he laughed. Their fingers twined together.

“Oh, if only he knew how long ago you managed to seduce me.”

Cassius laughed this time.

Ignatio propped himself up on an elbow, tracing Cassius’ chest with a finger.

“Will you tell him you were successful?”

Cassius shrugged. “That depends on how we want to play this game. He knew what I let slip at our last meeting, and he worries you may be suspicious of me.”

Ignatio shook his head. “He thinks you are still loyal to him, when you have been loyal to me since the start of this ruse. I know how wars are fought. Let him think I am ignorant of your participation on his side. Let him think you seduced me.”

Cassius pushed himself up and frowned.

“He will think you’re weak, and oblivious.”

“Exactly.” Ignatio smiled. “He will get overconfident if he thinks I’m just a ‘dumb, emotional Natural.’ Little does he know I could never be stronger than I am with you by my side.”

Cassius smiled before collapsing back down on his back.

“I don’t get how he thinks we — the Enhanced I mean — are better than anyone else.” He shook his head. “If anything we’re-”

Ignatio pressed a finger to his lips.

“Cassius, I don’t care if there’s some extra parts inside of you. It doesn’t matter. Equality is most important, no matter how much flesh or metal we are. That’s what you and I are fighting for, that's why we’ll win this war.”